physical activity of online high school students

8/12/2019 Physical Activity of Online High School Students

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PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF ONLINE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

By

Amy Pease

A Thesis submitted in Partial

Fulfillment of the requirements for

The Master of Science Degree

Thesis Chair: Dr. Steven J. Albrechtsen

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER

September 8, 2008


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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Thesis Approved

Amy Pease

Date: September 8, 2008

Committee Members: ___________________

___________________

___________________


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. Introduction 1

Literature Review 2

Purpose of Study 9

Research Questions 9

II. Methods 11

III. Results 13

IV. Discussion 18

Conclusion 20

Bibliography 22

Appendix A 23

iii


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Abstract of Thesis

Amy Pease

Physical Activity of Online High School Students

September 8, 2008

Dr. Steven J. Albrechtsen, Thesis Chair

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

iv


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Physical Activity of Online High School Students

Today, there are a growing number of overweight and obese

teenagers. This is a result of low activity levels, poor eating habits,

and a society driven by convenience and technology. Many people,

especially teenagers eat unhealthy fast food because it is convenient

for them. Along with an increase in unhealthy eating, teens have

more access to technology. Most teens today incorporate technology

into their social activities, and this can decrease their physical activity.

They do not have to physically be with friends to have chats or even

play games.

This study focused on determining if online high school

students were as physically active as traditional face-to-face

students. The study surveyed 77 online high school students from a

Wisconsin Charter School, IQ Academy, and 122 traditional face-to-

face students from Waukesha North High School in Waukesha,

Wisconsin. Surprisingly, the results for the two groups were very

similar. The study found that the online students had almost the

same activity level as traditional face-to-face high school students.

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This results of the study also suggested that the students self-image

was comparable. The students seemed to have the same pressures

to lose weight and be healthier.

Physical educators play an important role in the activity levels

of high school students. They need to teach and expose students to

activities that can positively influence the health of all students.

Educators need to make every students health a top priority.

Regardless of a students learning environment, educators around

the nation need to encourage activity for students so that we can

move toward solutions for the growing obesity problems.


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The activity levels of teenagers in our nation today are on a

downward trend. The author has been a Physical Education and

Health teacher for 11 years. In that time, the author has noticed the

increased interest in computers, video games, and other forms of

technology among students. Whether in a traditional face-to-face

classroom or in the virtual classroom, the students talk about the

hottest video game, music, video, phone, or about instant text

messaging from the night before.

All types of students are spending more hours with technology

rather than engaging in physical activity. Many of the current students

from a Wisconsin Online Charter School, IQ Academy, describe their

most common form of exercise as the latest game for the Nintendo

Wii. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study (Cassidy, 2003),

the average child age 2-18 spends the equivalent of a full workweek,

nearly five and one-half hours a day, watching television, playing

video games, surfing the Internet, or listening to music.


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Decreased fitness levels in our country are a huge problem;

one that cannot be solved instantly. As a society, we encourage a

sedentary lifestyle. With the invention of the Internet, it is becoming

less and less necessary to leave the house. We can shop,

communicate, and even go to school behind a computer. In addition,

all schools continue to face budget cuts. Physical Education

programs are often the first target of cuts or see an increase in class

size, which creates its own unique set of challenges.

It is important for Physical Education and Health teachers to

become aware of what is going on with the health of our teenagers,

as well as the current trends. Do they have an active lifestyle? What

can influence their activities? How can we incorporate the new

workout trends in our classes? Hopefully, by learning this information

about these teens, we can encourage and promote habits that teens

can carry into their adulthood regardless of the type of school that

they attended.

Literature Review

Obesity in our children is on the rise. According to Lemonick

and Bjerkle (2004), between the years of 1976 and 2000, the number


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of people who were considered obese in the United States went from

15.1% to 30.5%.

With the combination of a sedentary lifestyle and convenience

food eating, children are becoming less and less healthy. Childhood

obesity is linked to future adult obesity, but more serious is the direct

correlation to medical issues with teenagers. Such issues include an

increase in maturity-onset diabetes in the young (MODY) as well as

orthopedic issues and a lower quality of life because of the inability to

do certain activities. Some students may also not be as advanced

socially and educationally because of their obesity (Flodmark,

Lisseau, & Pietrobelli, 2005). In addition, kids are getting adult

diseases such as diabetes because they are overweight and inactive,

and they live on junk food. According to Cassidy (2003), Kids as

young as 10 are on cholesterol-lowering drugs. Observations

suggest that up to 80% of overweight adolescents will become obese

adults (Daniels, Arnett, Eckel, Gidding, Hayman, Kumanyika,

Robinson, Scott, St. Jeor, & Williams, 2005)

Increased activity is a major factor in winning the fight against

teenage obesity. Reports of successful weight loss and weight


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maintenance emphasize the importance of incorporating regular

physical activity. Children are similar to adults in that regular exercise

provides additional health benefits for overweight individuals,

including lowering disease risk, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing

blood pressure, and improving socialization through group

participation in activities (Daniels, Arnett, Eckel, Gidding, Hayman,

Kumanyika, Robinson, Scott, St. Jeor, & Williams, 2005). Exercise,

along with healthy eating habits and lifestyle choices can reduce

disease and help us as a country to fight teenage obesity.

Mental health also becomes a factor in obesity. One of the

best-studied areas is depression. In a study by Pine and colleagues

(2001), adults who had been diagnosed with clinically defined major

depression during their youth had a greater body mass index (BMI)

than adults who did not suffer from depression during their youth (26

versus 24 kg/m 2 at 10 to 15 years of follow-up). Many other studies

have also confirmed the association between depression and

subsequent obesity. Goodman and Whitaker (2002) examined 9,374

adolescents in grades seven to twelve and found that elevated BMI

was related to depression at one year of follow-up. The depression


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scores were highest in the children with the greatest increase in BMI

(Daniels, Arnett, Eckel, Gidding, Hayman, Kumanyika, Robinson,

Scott, St. Jeor, & Williams, 2005). Exercise can improve teen self-

confidence and self-image. Not only will teens be healthier and look

better, but also they will feel better about themselves and others.

The development of overweight and obese teens may also be

related to social difficulties. One of the primary mediators of the

psychopathological relations with obesity is peer relationships.

Overweight children have fewer friends and social network mapping

suggests that normal-weight children have more relationships with a

central network of children, whereas overweight children appear to

have more isolated and peripheral relationships. In addition to having

fewer friends, being teased about weight is a significant factor in

psychosocial distress. Teasing overweight youth has been shown to

be associated with an increase in both their suicidal ideation and

number of suicide attempts (Daniels, Arnett, Eckel, Gidding, Hayman,

Kumanyika, Robinson, Scott, St. Jeor, & Williams, 2005). Because

the teens with more friends and more self-confidence most often are

normal weight, schools need to take their activity classes more


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seriously. Instead of cutting Physical Education, schools need to

promote their programs and that will improve the overall health of

their students.

Schools need to take responsibility for getting young people

active. The State of Wisconsin has graduation requirements for

Physical Education. In a traditional face-to-face learning

environment, students must pass 1.5 credits of Physical Education.

Currently in one of the online charter schools, IQ Academy of

Wisconsin, the Physical Education requirement is one half credit of

Health and one half credit of Physical Education or one credit of

Health/Physical Fitness. Because IQ Academy is a charter school,

they have flexibility with the state requirements.

Around the nation, there are schools that are offering Personal

Fitness courses online as their Physical Education requirement. In

Minneapolis, they began to offer Physical Education online as a way

to appeal to students who were self-conscious about their body. We

have a significant number of kids who dont want to work out in

school, dont want to change clothes in front of people, and dont

want to run around a track because they cant run (Stover, 2005).


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This idea is a great option for the student who feels more comfortable

learning fitness, changing clothes, and exercising on his or her own.

At the Virtual School of Florida, Physical Education is one of the

most popular offerings, and it actually requires some real world

exercise. How much and how hard the students work out, however,

is largely up to them (Bowman, 2003). This became increasingly

important because in 2003, approximately 1,600 students in Florida

were expected to enroll into a cyberspace gym class. These

requirements are different at each school. Online learning has to be

activity based. Most students feel that they are more active in their

personal fitness class than they would be if they were in traditional

classes (Bowman, 2003).

Regardless of how students are educated, it is important that all

teachers offer programs that encourage and incorporate family

participation. Family activities can be a key factor in reaching the goal

of a healthier population. This is why lifetime fitness and activity

classes are becoming more and more popular. They encourage

activities that people at all levels of fitness can enjoy. Theses

activities include tennis, volleyball, bowling, badminton, exercise


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walking, biking, and many more. Not only can you do these activities

with almost anyone, you can continue to participate in these activities

forever.

Motivation is another important factor that should be looked at

when addressing the issue of obesity and physical activity. Programs

that are designed only because it is good for you tend not to be

successful because of the limitations in building a foundation for long

lasting or lifestyle change. This is important when working with

teenagers. Motivating teenagers can be difficult, but it can be done.

Incorporating rewards, music, competition with others or self, and

enthusiasm can help.

It is suggested that physical activity should be made PHAT

(pretty hot and tempting), so people will participate for the joy of the

activity or for the feeling it gives them. In order to make activities

PHAT, professionals must first be aware of what activities children

are interested in beyond traditional group sports and games, as well

as recognize how much the current culture and trends impact their

decision making (Edwards & Poff, 2008). It is important that these

activities be timely to this generation of students instead of just a


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traditional textbook activity in which they may be less interested. For

example, instead of square dancing in class, try the Dance, Dance,

Revolution game. It can teach students dance fundamentals, and

that physical activity can be fun and trendy. This is one reason that

the Nintendo Wii has become so popular with teenagers. It combines

the video game with aerobic and anaerobic activities.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to see if online high school

students were as physically active as traditional face-to-face learners.

It was intended to determine their physical activity levels and how

they felt about their activity, and their body size and shape. The

author expected to see that traditional face-to-face learners were

more physically active than online high school students.

Research Questions

The following questions guided this research:

1. Are the types of physical activity that high school students

participate in the same for online learners as they are for

traditional face-to-face learners?

2. How do students feel about their body size and shape?


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3. How much physical activity do the students get each week and

do they enjoy this physical activity?


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CHAPER II

METHODS

Seventy-seven online higher school students and 122

traditional face-to-face students completed a survey of their self-

image and physical activity. The survey is included as Appendix A

and the responses to each item are reported in the following chapter.

They survey included five demographic items, three self-image items

and seven physical activity items.

The 77 online high school students were from a Wisconsin

Charter School, IQ Academy, and registered in the required

Health/Physical Fitness class. These 77 online high school students

were given the survey in Appendix A as an assignment, filled out the

survey, and returned the survey to the author.

The 122 traditional face-to-face students were from Waukesha

North High School, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and registered in the

required Health class. These 122 traditional face-to-face students

were given the survey in Appendix A as an assignment, filled out the


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survey, and returned the survey to their instructor who forwarded the

survey to the author.


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CHAPTER III

RESULTS

The results from the survey are reported below for each item.

Means were determined using a 5-point Lichert scale where letter A

was worth 5 points. Most of the percentages total 100%, but for

items that asked the students to mark all that applied, the totals did

not equal 100%.

Immediately following are the results for the five demographic

items.

Online

Traditional

1. What is your age?

Mean 15.1 14.95Median 15 15Standard Deviation 0.86 0.52

2. What is your gender?

Male 32 65Female 45 57


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Online Traditional

3. What is your height? (Inches)


4. What is your weight? (Pounds)


5. Where do you attend school? 77 122

Immediately following are the results for the three self-image

items.

Online Traditionally

6. How would you describe your body?

A. Extremely Underweight 0% 0 B. Underweight 5 9 C. Normal 68 76 D. Overweight 23 14 E. Extremely Overweight 4 0 Total 100% 100%

Mean 2.74 2.93


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Online Traditional

7. How do you feel about your body size?

A. Love it 22% 8% B. Like it 30 36 C. Its ok 28 47 D. Dislike it 16 7 E. Hate it 4 2 Total 100% 100% Mean 3.5 3.4

8. If I could change one thing about my weight, I would

A. Gain weight 10% 18% B. Lose weight 58 51 C. Dont want to change anything 32 31 Total 100% 100%

Immediate following are the results for the seven physical

activity items.

Online Traditional

9. On the average, how much physical activi ty do you partic ipate indaily?

A. Less than 1 hour 20% 20% B. 1-2 hours 35 47 C. 3-4 hours 33 25 D. 4-5 hours 9 7 E. More than 5 hours 3 1 Total 100% 100% Mean 4.27 3.75


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Online Traditional

13. When are you involved in an organized sport? (Mark all that apply)

A. Fall 25% 47% B. Winter 30 41 C. Spring 28 43 D. Summer 26 38 E. Not involved in an organized sport. 53 29

14. Where do you participate in an organized sport? (Mark all that apply)

A. School 8% 61% B. Home 2 0 C. Health club or athletic facility 17 17 D. Park-Community 18 25 E. Other 20 8

15. If you were going to a friends house, how would you most likely getthere?

A. Walk 16% 25% B. Bike 19 20

C. Drive

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D. Get a ride 51 44 E. Other 0 1 Total 100% 100% Mean 3 3.21


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CHAPTER IV

DISCUSSION

The results of this study suggest that there were few

differences between the physical activity levels of online high school

learners and traditional face-to-face students. This results of this

study also suggest that the students self-image was comparable.

The students seemed to have the same pressures to lose weight and

be healthier no matter how they attended school. By comparison of

the means, most of the results were very close. It is important to

examine the results a bit closer for some of the items.

For item six, 9% of the traditional face-to-face students said that

they were underweight, but for item eight, 18% of the same students

said that they would like to gain weight. This could mean that some of

these students were of normal weight and want to get big. Possibly,

there may be athletes that want to gain strength.

Another interesting comparison relates to the results for item

seven. When comparing the online learners to the traditional face-to-

face students, 22% of the online learners love their body size


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compared to 8% of the traditional face-to-face. This could mean that

online learners had a better self-image because they were not

dealing with peer interaction as much. Also, for the same item, only

28% of online learners said that their body size was ok compared to

47% of the traditional face-to-face students. This means that the

face-to-face students were just satisfied. This could also mean that

online learners were more critical about their bodies. It may be easy

to describe your body as ok rather than being more specific.

It was not surprising to see that in the physical activity section

of the survey, 30% of the online students participated in the majority

of their activity in the park or community. Many online students were

extremely active in their community and church. Only 14% of the

traditional face-to-face students participated in a park or community.

For item fourteen, over half of the online students were not

involved in an organized sport compared to less than a third of

traditional face-to-face students. This made a lot of sense when in

response to item ten 9, 61% of the traditional face-to-face students

participated in their organized sport at school. This may have been


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because most organized sports are held at traditional schools. The

opportunity was available for the face-to-face students.

For item fifteen, instead of riding a bike or walking to a friends

house, over half of all students surveyed said that they would get a

ride. This simply described the fast paced society in which we live.

Teens today are in a huge hurry. Other factors that may be involved

in this answer could be safety, location of friends or time constraints,

but the fast paced, convenience based society probably had a lot

more to do with explaining this result.

Conclusion

The results of this study are reassuring in demonstrating that

teenagers are teenagers no matter where they go to school.

Certainly, there were some differences in the survey results, but

overall online learners were close to if not just as active as traditional

face-to-face students. The results of this study also indicate the

importance of a positive self-image. It is beneficial for teens to have

a positive self-image if they want to have strong mental health.

If we are going to fight the fight against teenage obesity, we will

have to discourage sedentary lifestyles. Teens need to be motivated


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to participate in activities. By making the activities fun, incorporating

technology, and keeping up with the trends, teens are more likely to

be active and more likely to be healthy. This is why the hottest game

for the Nintendo Wii is the new Wii Fit. This game is selling fitness as

fun. It is a game that can help you lose weight, tone your body, and

increase your fitness level. This is a big motivator.

Teens can also fight the battle against obesity by spending

more time on their eating. Fast and convenience eating on a regular

basis is unhealthy and contribute to overweight and obesity problems.

Unhealthy eating is also a factor that is contributing to the diagnosis

of many adult diseases. By spending more time on food preparation

and planning, teens will strengthen their fight against obesity.

It is important for all educators to expose students to many

types of activities so that they can find one that is fun and allows

them to be successful. As physical educators, we must impact the

school districts priorities and make our students health a top priority.

By making their physical health a top priority, their mental health will

improve helping to minimize other distractions in their lives.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bowman, D. H. (2003). Internet spawns online Physical Education.Education Week , 22(20), 3.

Cardinal, B. J., & Spaziani, M. D. (2007). Effects of classroom andvirtual "Lifetime fitness for health" instruction on college students'exercise behavior. Physical Educator , 64, 205-213.

Cassidy, C. M. (2003). Get 'em up and moving! Prevention , 55(4), 17.

Daniels, S. R., Arnett, D. K., Eckel, R. H., Gidding, S. S., Hayman, L.L., Kumanyika, S., Robinson, T. N., Scott, B. J., St. Jeor, S., &Williams C.L. (2005). Overweight in children and adolescents:Pathophysiology, consequences, prevention, and treatment.Circulation ,111, 1999-2012.

Flodmark, C-E., Lissau, I., & Pietrobelli, A. (2005). Child andadolescent obesity: Why we need to fight. Acta Paediatrica , 94, 4-7.

Goodman, E., & Whitacker, R.C. (2002). A prospective study of therole of in the development and persistence of adolescent obesity.Pediatrics , 110, 497-504.

Lemonick, M.D., & Bjerklie, D. (2004, June 7). How we grew so big.Time , 163, 58.

Pine, D. S., Goldstein, R. B., Wolk, S., & Weissman, M. M. (2001).The association between childhood depression and adulthood bodymass index. Pediatrics , 107, 1049-1056.

Stover, D. (2005). No, really: P.E. online. Education Digest , 71(3), 41-42.


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Appendix A

Act ivi ty Survey

1. What is your age? ______ (Years)

2. What is your gender?

A. MaleB. Female

3. What is your height? _______ (Inches)

4. What is your weight? _______ (Pounds)

5. How do you attend school?

A. Traditional Face-to-faceB. Online

6. How would YOU describe your body?

A. Extremely underweightB. UnderweightC. NormalD. OverweightE. Extremely overweight

7. How do YOU feel about your body size?

A. Love itB. Like itC. Its okD. Dislike itE. Hate it


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8. If I could change one thing about my weight, I would

A. Gain weightB. Lose weightC. Dont want to change anything

9. On the average, how much physical activity do you participate indaily?

A. Less than 1 hourB. 1-2 hoursC. 2-3 hoursD. 4-5 hoursE. More than 5 hours

10. Where do you participate in the majority of your activity? (Markall that apply)

A. SchoolB. HomeC. Health club or athletic facility

D. Park- CommunityE. Other

11. How do you feel about physical activity?

A. Love itB. Like itC. Its okD. Dislike itE. Hate it


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12. Describe how you feel when you are participating in physicalactivity?

A. Feels greatB. Feels goodC. Feels okD. Sometimes painE. Hurts like crazy

13. When are you involved in an organized sport? (Mark all thatapply)

A. FallB. WinterC. SpringD. SummerE. Not involved in any organized sport

14. Where do you participate in your organized sport? (Mark all thatapply)

A. SchoolB. HomeC. Health club or athletic facilityD. Park- CommunityE. Other

15. If you were going to a friends house, how would you most likelyget there?

A. WalkB. BikeC. DriveD. Get a rideE. Other

physical activity of online high school students

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